Image: Hayward Gallery, London ; the artist Vitamin Creative Space and Spruth Magers
The exhibition runs from 20 April to 25 July 2027. It will unfold across five thematic chapters, tracing Cao Fei’s practice from the early 2000s to the present day through immersive installations.
The presentation includes ‘Whose Utopia’, ‘RMB City’, ‘Asia One’ and the new multi-channel installation ‘The Birth’.
Cao Fei’s work blends influences from cinema, popular culture, science fiction, gaming, history and technological innovation to reflect on and reimagine a fast-changing society. The exhibition’s themes encompass collisions between cultures and traditions across generations, the inner dreams of factory workers, rapid urban change and virtual worlds that question reality.
‘Asia One’ is a single-channel HD video lasting 63 minutes and 21 seconds.
The Hayward presentation is the second iteration of Cao Fei’s major European survey, first developed and presented at Kunstmuseum Basel in June 2026 under the title ‘Testimonies to the Near Future’.
